DIY Tractor Cleanup TIps

[TaylorLSexton]

There is a good possibility I could be inheriting my grandfather's International 385. It's only got 1,800 hours on it, and it is quite the tractor. I'm in love with. There are many childhood memories with this thing. Even the sound of the engine makes me nostalgic. However, it needs a good bit of cleaning. I don't think anything is missing off the machine. But the paint has been fading (it's 35 years old this year, after all), the engine has some black grease buildup on it, etc., etc., etc. I think it would be a great hobby of the next few years to work on getting it cleaned up. Does anyone have tips for this? Tools I need? Cleaners I need? Techniques I should use? I'm not really talking full-on restoration here; just basic clean-up and polishing what's already there. Anything helps!

 

[JimRB]

I wash my tractor. I get out the polishing pad and some polish using a Porter Cable dual action car polisher. Remove the polish with a rag. Apply wax with a different pad. Buff off with another rag. This of course works if there is no rust, just faded paint. Plenty of you tube polish the paint videos.

 

[Industrial Toys]

Some guys on youtube can work wonders with implement paint, using hardeners. I have never tried that, but the results look like OEM.

Looked up that tractor. I always liked that Beefy IH stature. That was your average around the farm, utility tractor. When tractors were tractors, men were men and women were women. The guy that likely drove that probably wasn't wearing sunscreen or holding a bottle of water. lol

 

[mred2]

Be careful, if you remove the grease from metal with no paint under it, it will rust. This is fine on the heavy frame, but not on the thin sheet metal. I know farmers that pour their old oil over things to stop the rust. They don't have room to put everything under a shed.

 

[EddieWalker]

Never use a pressure washer on a vehicle. You do not want water forced into old seals, and then into areas that are only intended to have oil or grease.

I would start with a putty knife and scrape away as much as possible. Then a wire brush, or nylon bristly brush with paint thinner, or turpentine, to get as much as possible.

Then I would use chemicals to remove what is left. My personally favorite is Brake Cleaner. That will dissolve whatever is left and make it shiny clean. I use brake cleaner for everything from my spray paint gun, to my hunting rifle, to nasty parts on my tractors. It doesn't really matter what brand you buy, they all work the same. Just be sure not to lose that little red straw that attaches to the nozzle, it's super handy at getting to the hard to reach places.

And after all that, I would use soap and water with a garden hose to get it to it's final cleaning before deciding what needs painting.

Painting is another topic that should be addressed in a specific thread because there are so many options out there. Especially if dealing with rust!!!

 

[TaylorLSexton]

I know it has been a while since posting about this, but I wanted to post a few pictures of the tractor. They are attached to this post.

This tractor has my heart, y'all. It is my grandfather's (who, by the way, just turned 88, and still uses it often). He bought it brand new in 1985. It only has 1830-something hours on it. It runs like a charm. It cranks up with hardly a turn of the switch. It idles, revs up, and runs without any smoke; the hand and foot throttles are both very responsive. The only thing it needs, as I said, is some cleaning and paint. It has been well maintained its entire life, and has never been left out in the weather. I hope to make this a small project of mine over the next few years. My father and I just replaced the original fan and alternator belt today! The next immediate thing it needs is new front tires. (All the tires are original from 1985.)

Enjoy the pictures! I will try to upload videos soon.

 

[JethroB]

Nice old heavy iron. It will outlast you. I see it has spin-out rear wheels. Should you ever go to adjust them be prepared for a ride.

 

[workinonit]

Nice machine. Probably the best row crop cultivating tractor that has ever been made. We had a stable of them, 364, 385, 656, 1066, 1466 and probably a dozen Farmall 140s.